Baptism In The Godfather

The critically acclaimed film, Goodfellas, is a gangster crime drama that features an incredible amount of talent. Household names such as: Robert De Niro (Jimmy Conway), Joe Pesci (Tommy DeVito), Paul Sorvino (Paul Cicero), and promising stars like Ray Liotta (Henry Hill) and Lorraine Bracco (Karen Hill), attracted numerous Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. That type of cast power, linked with the signature talent of Martin Scorsese as a director, made for cinematic gold. Unquestionably, the actors and actresses did an excellent job augmenting the verisimilitude of this film and compelling audiences to empathize with their characters. But the cinematography in this film plays just as large a role in having audiences feel what the characters are feeling at a specific moment. Through the use of freeze frames, we learn of significant moments that shape Henry into the man that he is. By means of first-person narration we are able to know exactly what is going through a particular character’s mind. Finally, wonderful editing made great use of point of view and multiple jump cuts, which added to the sensation that we are undergoing the same experiences as the characters on screen. I will go into further detail and specify scenes that convey these elements as the essay progresses. Altogether, Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas effectively depicts paramount scenes and allows the audience to empathize with the characters by virtue of stylistic editing and cinematography.

The critically acclaimed film, Goodfellas, is a gangster crime drama that features a great deal of talent. Household names such as Robert De Niro (Jimmy Conway), Joe Pesci (Tommy DeVito), Paul Sorvino (Paul Cicero), and promising stars like Ray Liotta (Henry Hill) and Lorraine Bracco (Karen Hill), attracted numerous Golden Globes and Academy Awards nominations. That type of cast power, linked with the signature talent of Martin Scorsese as a director, made for cinematic gold. Unquestionably, the actors and actresses did an excellent job augmenting the verisimilitude of this film and compelling audiences to empathize with their characters. But the cinematography in this film plays just as large a role in having audiences feel what the characters are feeling at a specific moment. Through the use of freeze frames, we learn of significant moments that shape Henry into the man that he is. By means of first-person narration, we are able to know exactly what is going through a particular character’s mind. Finally, strong editing made efficient use of multiple jump cuts, which add to the sensation that we are undergoing the same experiences as the characters on screen. Altogether, Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas effectively depicts paramount scenes and allows the audience to empathize with the characters by virtue of stylistic editing and cinematography.

“ They rely on a viewer's preconceived idea of how a particular person or ethnic group should act and merely fulfill these expectations. External signs and cues are used to indicate and suggest the veneer of culture. Dress, eating habits, and language accents are exaggerated…” Even though the directors of the movie did not directly refer to Italian Americans, the way they portrayed the characters based on their language, clothes, food and etc. indirectly told the audience that the characters were of Italian background. By seeing this occur in every movie and show, the public got accustomed to seeing Italian Americans as the mafia and failed to recognize that the mafia was only a small percentage of Italian Americans and the rest were just like ordinary people trying to make a better life.

Unlike Goodfellas, the violence in The Godfather occurs mysteriously and almost magically. The organized crimes and murders simply occur without any mistake in this film. One of the bloody scenes that portray this is the one where Woltz’ bed is covered in blood. This scene was very slick the way Tom Hagen slipped away without being noticed by anyone. Hagen’s visit was to intimidate Woltz by proving that if he had to kill him, he would be able to. Another very violent act was Sonny’s death. This plan was organized carefully by Don Emilio Varzini with the help of Carlo Rizzi, his brother-in-law. Earlier in the film Sonny had beaten Carlo after he heard Carlo was abusing his sister Connie. To get back at him, Carlo viciously beats Connie using his belt. When Sonny hears of this he speeds to Connie’s apartment. As he approaches, Barzini’s men surround Sonny and viciously shoot him to death. This act was also thought out very cautiously by masterminds. Towards the end of the movie, the planned killing of the five other mob leaders is revealed. Michael orders all of the head of the families to be killed so he can be the top Don. Although this scene is violent, it is masked by the ceremony of Michael becoming Connie’s son’s godfather. The mass murder was perfectly planned to

His role in The Godfather is that of the Don, or a commanding officer. He climbs the social ladder in the Corleone family, starting as a member and gains a higher reputation by killing the man believed to have orchestrated the attacks against his father, Virgil Sollozzo, and a corrupt police captain paid by Sollozzo. Michael then travels to Sicily and doesn’t move up in the family for a while. Two years later, his brother Sonny Corleone, who was the acting head of the family after their father was injured, was shot in a phone booth. Michael then returns to America to help out with the family: he assumes Sonny’s role as his father’s heir apparent, a Vice President who steps in when the Don is injured or killed. Once the Don retires, he becomes the new Don and takes over as the head of the crime family.

The Italians are associated with organized crime and are also shown as close to their families as shown in the movie The Godfather where the characters are associated with family, violence, and food, such as pasta. The TV series, Sopranos portrayed Italian men as leaders of the house with women being housewives. However, a

The gangster genre within films in America has accomplished numerous positive criticisms and constant willing audiences due to containing outstanding spectacles and mind-blowing action. The Godfather, being second on the IMDb Top 250 Movies, has set a new popular concept to life within the Mafia from their point of view. Doing so, creating a positive association. Yet within Italy, the same topic contains a complete different view. Movies such as I Cento Passi demonstrate unenthusiastic view by those whom are outside yet negatively affected by those members. Unlike American films, the gangsters are not as often viewed at the protagonist and are the main causes for the problematic events. But how different is Italian Mafia and American

The Godfather is a mob film focuses on the Corleone Family, with its head Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) trying to find a suitable heir to his empire, while war is breathing down the neck of other crime families. Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) then steps in to organize the family back to shape. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola and based from the novel of the same name written by Mario Puzo. It received critical acclaim by critics and was cited as an influence by real life mobsters due to its rather realistic portrayal of gangster life and Cosa Nostra.

Despite many Christians, such as Patriarch Batholomew from the Greek Orthodox church who states that ‘For humans to contaminate the Earth’s waters, its land, its air, and its life, with poisonous substances. These are sins’ in an attempt to encourage prioritising environmental protection, climate skeptic Calvin Beisner states that “the Bible teaches that earth and all its subsystems… are the product of a God who is an infinitely wise designer”, reflecting that his personal interpretation of God’s revelation has led to his understanding of the Earth being intelligently design, so that humankind could not potentially destroy it, consequently leading to him not placing priority on the protection of the environment.

Let’s start with the story of “The Godfather Part II”. The movie’s story is a continuation of where the first movie left off, which is with Michael Corleone as the new don, or head of the family. However, this film is quite different from the first, or any other movie as it shows two different stories at once. One story is of Michael Corleone’s fall and the numerous legal battles he goes through as he tries to legitimize his family business, and the other is the story of Michael’s father, Vito, and his rise to power from young adult to mafia leader. The story of Vito Corleone is shown through flashbacks that happen too often for my liking, and are not as entertaining as the

La Cosa Nostra Perhaps one of the most poignant moments in American cinema is the closing scene in the film “The Godfather” when Don Vito Corleone’s son Michael takes over his father’s position... and one of the most unforgettable moments, a severed horses’s head lies bloody in a man’s bed. It is this tradition and brutality that characterizes the Mafia, a secret Sicilian society that lives and functions just as much today on American soil as it did and does still in Italy. To understand this organized crime, one must begin to understand how it came to be organized in the first place. During the medieval times in Sicily, Arabs invaded the land and native Sicilians fled and took refuge in the hills. Some of these refugees formed a

The Godfather is the story of a Mafia family. It follows the rise of Michael Corleone within the family. Michael was once a war hero and did not want to be involved in the family business. When his father is shot though, Michael takes revenge on the people who did it and becomes a part of the Mafia lifestyle. When his older brother is murdered, Michael ascends to become the boss of the family, and proves to be more ruthless than his father and brother combined. The scene that I am analyzing is one where Michael is becoming his nephew’s godfather at his baptism.

The Godfather presents Vito as the paradigmatic Mafia don. He is wise and intelligent, an excellent reader of others’ intentions, and a smooth, subtle talker, able to convince with words, not only bullets. Though a ruthless, violent criminal, Vito is also a warm, loving father and husband. In his later years, Vito comes across as relaxed and playful, even mellow. He has lived a rich, full life and earned a quiet retirement. Vito is both the perfect father and the perfect Godfather, making him a difficult model for all of his children, especially Michael, to imitate

The two major themes in this movie is friendship and greed, and the two themes often come in conflict with each other. The mafia is made up of a very select few individuals, who are together all the time and don't affiliate with outsiders. This makes them grow strong bonds and develop friendships with each other. According to Jimmy Conway, the two most important things to remember is "to never rat on your friends,

Throughout the film, Michael Corleone played brilliantly by Al Pacino, experiences a major change in his way of thinking. Michael changes from believing that what his family does is wrong, to believing that his family's crimes are a necessary evil. He begins by insisting to his girlfriend that his family's crimes belong to his family, not to him. He was not involved in the business and did not want anything to do with it.